Trio of receivers propels explosive offense

Stevenson, Corbin, Lark erase doubts over who will replace last year’s targets

Marquez Stevenson, Keith Corbin and Courtney Lark had never met until an official recruiting visit to the University of Houston in 2015.

All three wide receivers ultimately signed with the Cougars as part of the heralded 2016 class. But it was that visit that set the plan in motion.

“We came in together,” Stevenson said. “This was our plan from Day 1.”

The plan was for the three, after a couple years waiting their turn, to take a more prominent role in the UH passing attack. After an offseason of change that included the installation of a new up-tempo, vertical passing attack, the trio is living up to the promise many expected when they first arrived on Cullen Boulevard.

In the process, the Cougars have an answer to one of the biggest question marks entering the season: Who will step up at receiver?

“Everybody all offseason had been asking: What are (the Cougars) going to do at receiver?” offensive coordinator Kendal Briles said. “Are they going to have any receivers? Those guys have taken to that. They heard that. They’ve heard the noise and worked their butts off, and I’m just really proud of what (receivers) coach Kenny Guiton has done with them.”

The concern was warranted. Entering the season, the Cougars had to replace the top three receivers with the graduation of Steven Dunbar and Linell Bonner, who combined for 156 receptions, 1,959 yards and eight touchdowns a year ago. With UH’s third-leading receiver, King, moving full time to quarterback, the Cougars had no proven receivers.

Waiting in line: Stevenson, Corbin and Lark.

“Big shoes to fill,” Corbin said. “But I feel we were ready since our freshman year. We were waiting our opportunity.”

The trio has been a big reason the Cougars rank among the nation’s most explosive offenses and reside in sole possession of first place in the American Athletic Conference West Division heading into Saturday’s showdown against No. 21 South Florida at TDECU Stadium.

Stevenson, a sophomore from Shreveport, La., leads the team in catches (40) and receiving yards (613) and has eight touchdowns. The speedster has shown his explosiveness with five plays of 50 or more yards, second most in the nation.

Corbin, a junior from Beaumont, has 26 catches for 498 yards and a teamhigh seven touchdowns. He has caught a touchdown in six consecutive games, the longest active streak in the nation.

Lark, a junior from Bellaire, has 28 catches for 424 yards and four touchdowns. One of his biggest moments came last year against South Florida, when he hauled in a 30-yard catch on fourth down-and-24 to extend the Cougars’ game-winning drive.

“They have done everything that we knew that they were capable of,” UH head coach Major Applewhite said. “They are every bit as explosive as we thought they would be. The thing that I am proud of from those three guys the most is obviously the catches and the touchdowns and the explosive plays, but this is brand new success for them.”

Against Navy, the trio had their best performance, as Stevenson (eight catches for 141 yards and a rushing touchdown), Corbin (six catches for 104 yards and TD) and Lark (five catches for 106 yards and TD) gave UH three 100-yard receivers in a game for the first time since 2008.

UH is the only school to have three receivers in the top 10 in yardage in the AAC. In addition, Stevenson, Corbin and Lark all average more than 15 yards per catch.

Along with being down in the depth chart behind veterans, Corbin said, there was an adjustment from high school to college football.

“Freshman year coming straight out of high school, we did not know how much of a business it was,” Corbin said. “Now that we know, we are ready to go.”

The trust extends to King, who has completed 66 percent of his passes and 75 percent his yardage total to Stevenson, Corbin and Lark.

“The whole receiving corps has worked really hard,” King said. “I know people outside the program had questions about who was going to step up. I think they took it personal. They’ve worked really hard and are doing as well as anybody in the country.”